


It's all coming back to me now

by softiejohnyong



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Getting Back Together, Love Confessions, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-02
Updated: 2018-09-02
Packaged: 2019-07-05 23:31:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,312
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15873936
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/softiejohnyong/pseuds/softiejohnyong
Summary: "When you see me like thisAnd when I see you like thatThen we see what we want to see all coming back to me"- "It's all coming back to me now" by Celine Dion.





	It's all coming back to me now

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by this [gif](http://cfile21.uf.tistory.com/image/997CEB395B89604A158369)
> 
> A big thank you to [@princessgongju1](https://twitter.com/princessgongju1) for recommending this song to me.
> 
> unbeta-ed.

“John.”

One word, one syllable, and Johnny knew who it was. He was surprised by himself even, being able to recognize the voice that he hadn’t heard for years. But how could he forget though? The voice that belonged to the only person in the world that Johnny had ever loved that much.

Johnny hesitated at first. What if his ears were playing a trick on him? What if it was just his imagination?

He turned around. And there, standing no more than five feet away from Johnny, was his love. His Taeyong. Still as beautiful as ever, with a look of disbelief on his face. As if he too couldn’t believe that they met again in this tiny corner of Hanoi.  _ Of all places… _

Taeyong was wearing a deep navy hoodie with dark jeans and a pair of black sneakers - almost too young of an outfit for someone his age, but it suited the slightly chilly breeze of November. Johnny noticed several books in his arm - one of them was What The Dog Saw by Malcom Gladwell - and smiled. Young Taeyong wasn’t exactly keen on books, wouldn’t read much despite being exposed to all kinds of reading materials back then. Time did change him then. For one brief second, Johnny somehow felt both the sadness and joy pushing at each other inside of him. Taeyong had changed, was no longer the Taeyong in Johnny’s memory from six years ago. This Taeyong was new, could be a complete stranger to Johnny even. But change also came with a promise of discovery each other again. Only if Taeyong could give them a chance.

“Hi…”, was all that came out of Johnny’s mouth, despite his mind racing a mile a minute. Suddenly he felt uncertain and out of place. His Tuesday routine of visiting this café was interrupted by the appearance of his ex-boyfriend. No, not ex, they had never been official before; but bestfriends who were in love with each other, probably.

“Hi,” Taeyong replied with his pretty lips curling into a smile. “What a surprise…”. Then both of them snapped out of it, finally realizing that they were standing still in the middle of a café, with actual people moving around them.

“Do you want to… come sit with me? Only if you have time, of course.” Taeyong said, gesturing at a nearby table. He felt ridiculous for feeling so awkward around someone whom he was supposed to be comfortable with.  _ Right. Bestfriend whom I haven’t spoken to for years. _

The waitress came ten minutes later with both of their orders. Two glasses filled with ice, two smaller cups of condensed milk with a filter slowly dripping coffee into them. Another surprise. The old Taeyong’d always preferred a large cup of milk with very little coffee; whereas the new Taeyong seemed to have learned to enjoy the strong flavor of it.

“How have you been?”

It was Johnny who spoke first. Sure he was stunned to see Taeyong again, but it wasn’t like him to let the atmosphere fall into utter silence for so long. He wanted to -  _ needed to _ \- get to know Taeyong again, to fall in love with him again. It was irony though, for just a few minutes ago he had been so afraid that they wouldn’t work out even if given a chance; he was eager and hopeful now. Because if anything, it must be faith that they met again. Call him superstitious, but you don’t exactly move to another country far away from home and expect to see someone from your past there. After all, he came to Hanoi to hide from his past. He couldn’t stay in Seoul for obvious reasons, and Chicago was out of the question - they’d spent one whole month there like a newly-wed couple, Johnny taking Taeyong to each and every one of his favourite places in the city. So he opted for Hanoi. A beautiful place with the perfect balance between small town and big city, where Johnny found solace in living a quiet life, earning his rent by working as a freelance photographer. 

Sometimes Johnny missed his old lifestyle though. Chicago and Seoul got him constantly on his feet, but Hanoi calmed him down, unwinded him. Johnny adapted, learned how to enjoy the strong bittersweet taste of a cup of Vietnamese milk coffee, so much stronger than the Americano he often took.

And now he had Taeyong here. Judging by his clothes and the books he brought, Johnny was pretty sure that Taeyong lived here too - at least for a while longer. Maybe they could have another chance with each other. All that Johnny needed then was time.

“Why didn’t you call me?”, Taeyong softly asked, even though for Johnny, that question felt like a rock thrown into a still pond. True, he was a coward for leaving and not saying a word. But what was he supposed to do back then? He was so crazy in love with Taeyong that, when the other told him he was engaged to another person, his heart got shattered into millions of pieces. 

“Shouldn’t you know the reason?”, Johnny quietly replied. He looked down at his cup, mindlessly stirring the dark brown liquid.

“Johnny, look at me.”

When he looked up, Johnny was met with a pair of eyes filled with sorrow.

“I’m sorry. I knew I messed up. I shouldn’t have done that to you. I knew you were in love with me, and I was in love with you too, then I got scared. I don’t know why I did that, I just wanted to run away from you. I’m sorry.”

“We were young and stupid. I don’t blame you. I didn’t make you feel safe. I-”

“Johnny, please, just- listen to me. I… I love you. Still do. A lot.”

In a moment of panic, Taeyong reached for Johnny’s left hand. His hand felt bony and warm, grasping tightly at Johnny’s. Taeyong seemed to want to say something more; he opened his mouth then closed it, as if he couldn’t find the right word. But his eyes told it all. Taeyong’s beautiful, expressive eyes, always captivated Johnny’s heart whenever he looked at them. And they were telling Johnny that everything Taeyong just said was true. It was real. That Taeyong loved him, despite the time, the distance, he still loved him. That maybe, they really did have a chance this time.

The café they were at was called Tranquil. True to its name, the café somehow always managed to maintain its unique atmosphere of tranquility. Johnny felt the most calm whenever he visited this place. Johnny let out a breathe he didn’t know he was holding. This was a lot to take in, and definitely not how he expected their meeting would turn out. In truth, he had wanted to eventually talk to Taeyong about what had happened six years ago, just not this soon.

“Taeyong…”

“I’m sorry if I said it too late. I needed to get it off my chest. I-”

“No, Taeyong, you listen to me. Yes, what we did to each other was wrong on so many levels, but the past is the past. Drop it. Stop dwelling on it. You don’t know how happy I am that we met again. And I love you too. Always. I tried to forget you, but I couldn’t. So I’m asking you, can you give it a try? Can we start over?”

Taeyong’s smile then was the most beautiful thing Johnny had seen in a while. It was as if a rock had finally been lifted off his shoulders, he was  _ relieved _ .

Before Johnny knew it, Taeyong leaned forwards, and placed a soft kiss on the corner of his mouth.

“Thank you.”

Outside, the street was drenched gold from the sun. It was a rare sunny day in November.

**Author's Note:**

> i don't know what happened to me.
> 
> find me at [twitter](https://twitter.com/softiejohnyong)


End file.
